March 2008         

   1) Congratulations to our brother Postulants who entered the Novitiate, receiving new names and the holy habit on Feb. 29th (pictures here). St. Joseph's is rather empty now that they have moved to Most Blessed Sacrament Friary in Newark, NJ. Pray for them as they begin this important year of a concentrated interior formation.

   2) Congratulations to our brother Novices who professed first vows on March 3rd. These brothers will be moving into their first assignments at friaries in the New York area. Br. Francesco will join his twin brother Br. Felice at St. Joseph's. Br. Pius will also join us as assistant to the Vocation Director (pictures here soon).

   3) Congratulations to Fr. Leo as he leaves for his new assignment at Saint Juan Diego Friary in Albuquerque, NM. He will be greatly missed as the Postulant Director and Local Servant at St. Joseph's.

   4) I will replace Fr. Leo as Postulant Director and Local Servant. Fr. Gabriel will replace me as the Vocation Director!! We are having a little "re-shuffling of the deck" as it were...

This month I would like to continue on our theme of Human Formation. At the beginning of Mass one day, I said to a newly ordained priest, "Give'em heaven!" His response was profound: "To the degree that my broken humanity will allow it, I will." Because of sin, we all have broken hearts. For those who are thinking about the Priesthood and religious life, the struggle for healing and virtue is very important.

Being orthodox is not enough. I have often met a person who was offended by a priest who acted like a real jerk. Some of these people may stay away from the sacraments because of the bad example of a priest. These people will never forget. Therefore, pray, struggle and check out this outstanding book on the Christian pursuit of virtue ...

Back to Virtue, Traditional Moral Wisdom for Modern Moral Confusion
by the great Peter Kreeft.

Wisdom quote: "This ministry demands of the priest an intense spiritual life, filled with those qualities and virtues which are typical of a person who 'presides over' and 'leads' a community, of an 'elder' in the noblest and richest sense of the word: qualities and virtues such as: faithfulness, integrity, consistency, wisdom, a welcoming spirit, friendliness, goodness of heart, decisive firmness in essentials, freedom from overly subjective viewpoints, personal disinterestedness, patience, an enthusiasm for daily tasks, confidence in the value of the hidden workings of grace as manifested in the simple and the poor (cf. Ti. 1:7-8)" (PDV #26, Pope JPII).